Running commentary...

A relay, a hill climb, and a half-marathon for women in the past week have provided a lot to report on about runners in the Sisters community. The annual Hood to Coast/Portland to Coast Relay held August 27-28 included some locals again this year.

The "Willamette Dental" team, which included Sisters resident Sean Meissner, won the open-mixed category and finished ninth overall in a stellar time of 19 hours 55 minutes and 31 seconds for the 197-mile course.

An entire group based in Sisters was running in memory of Kyle Whipps, who died in 2008. His mother Penny Whipps has started a non-profit organization called Just1X to help prevent other young people from dying from participating in high-risk behaviors. The team finished in 31 hours 5 minutes.

The Sisters High School cross country team, "Outlaws on the Run," showed some muscle in the Portland to Coast High School Challenge finishing 17th overall among 46 teams and 10th among 26 mixed teams, completing the 127-mile course in 16 hours 26 minutes and 53 seconds.

The annual Sunrise to Summit race up Mt. Bachelor on Saturday, September 4, featured two local runners who broke into the top 10. Sean Meissner (43:02) powered his way to fifth place in the race in which oxygen debt occurs within the first few steps.

Tom Blust, an avid hill runner well known for his jaunts up Black Butte came through just behind Meissner in 43:07.

The winner, Erik Skaggs of Ashland, set a new course record in 33:38. Jo Zucker (51:14) placed sixth among women. Josh Nordell tried out the duathlon portion of the event, which featured a bike ride from Bend to Mt. Bachelor, followed by the run up to the summit, and finished seventh right at the two-hour mark.

"Sean was up to his normal shenanigans prior to the race and told me that getting up to the summit would be a piece of cake," said Nordell. "He must eat cake with glass shards and sharp nails in it."

The first annual Eugene Women's half-marathon drew over 1,500 women to a course along the Willamette River on Sunday, September 5, including a sizable contingent from Sisters, many of whom have ties to the Sisters School District.

High school teachers Samra Spear, Janis Quiros and Gail Greaney, along with Sisters Middle School secretary Terri Brown, high school students Savannah Spear and Elise Herron took part. Michelle Herron, principal of Tumalo Community School, and Lora Nordquist, now an administrator for Bend-La Pine schools also took part.

If you're inspired by the exploits of your fellow community members, check out the events section of the Web site for FootZone, http://www.footzonebend.com to see what is coming up this fall in Central Oregon, as well as to find information on learning how to run.